George Esbensen's guest appearances

George Esbensen

ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Podcast

Real Talk with Roshini

Matt Dumba

Jason Moore

Dave Lee

Michael Phillips

Jason Scott

Jeff Johnson

David Young

Steve Robinson

Ilhan Omar

Scott Adams

Dave Johnson

Tina Smith

Ben Smith

Arno Michaelis

Al Franken

OwlTail

Firefighters are in danger. Minnesota Firefighter George Esbensen joins Roshini to discuss just that. 2020 was one of the most deadly for firefighters. Cardiac, emotional trauma, and cancer are the three most common problems firefighters face. MNFire just received a $400K grant to train Minnesota’s 22,000 firefighters to become more aware of their occupational risks as they work to protect the rest of us from harm.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Firefighters are in danger. Minnesota Firefighter George Esbensen joins Roshini to discuss just that. 2020 was one of the most deadly for firefighters. Cardiac, emotional trauma, and cancer are the three most common problems firefighters face. MNFire just received a $400K grant to train Minnesota’s 22,000 firefighters to become more aware of their occupational risks as they work to protect the rest of us from harm.See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

1-3-21 - Real Talk with Roshini - Featured Segment - George Esbensen

Kai and George Esbensen, Micro-Ed Software  I first heard about the Micro-Ed software company when a member of the Atari community sent me a batch of educational cassette tapes to digitize. The tapes had titles like Maps and Globes, Punctuation, and Spelling Level E. Intriguingly, the tape labels said "Micro-Ed, creators of more than 2,500 programs, pre-school through adult." 2,500 programs? Why had I never heard of this company?  I asked 4AM, a software preservationist specializing in the Apple II — and specializing in little-known educational software — if they had heard of the company. The answer was also no. So I started to research.  A two-page advertisement in Compute! magazine issue 4, May 1980, provided my first glimpse into the company: "LOOK at all the MICRO-ED programs for the PET!" The titles listed include Agreement of Subject and Verb; Run on Sentences; Higher, Same, Lower; Word Demons; and (oddly) Usage Boners. Many of the software tapes were sold in packs, for instance $84 for a pack of 12 elementary school programs. $49.95 for a grade's worth of spelling lessons on 7 tapes.  An item in the Washington Apple Pi journal, four years later, January 1984, intrigued me: "$10,000 EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE GIVEAWAY. Micro-Ed Incorporated has announced its willingness to donate up to $10,000 worth of software to any school district, Special Education cooperative, or parent group willing to establish a school-to-home lending library. No limit has been established on the number of grants Micro-Ed will make. The donation is not contingent upon the purchase of any Micro-Ed products. ... Thorward Esbensen, Micro-Ed's president, 'envisions the establishment of a free lending library of educational software for families.'"  Less than a year later, in November 1984, the Commodore magazine The Transactor (v5n3) wrote that Micro-Ed had donated "more than a half million dollars worth of its instructional programs to school systems" for those free software lending libraries.  So. Micro-Ed was established in 1979 by Thorward (Tory) Esbensen. Based in Eden Prairie, MN, the company specialized in low-cost educational software. The software, written in the BASIC programming language, was available for Commodore PET, VIC-20, and Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit, Apple II, TRS-80, and Texas Instruments computers. Micro-Ed's best-known title was perhaps "Trail West," an Oregon Trail-like game.  Mr. Esbensen died in 2012. I interviewed two of his sons, both of whom worked with their father at Micro-Ed. First, I talked with Kai Esbensen, the youngest in the family. Kai told me in email: "My siblings had all moved out by the time Micro-Ed was in motion, but I lived it. Helping out with Micro-Ed was my first paid job, in 2nd/3rd grade, and I was still on the payroll helping out through age 22." This interview took place on May 28, 2020.  ...  Next, I talked with Kai's older brother, George Esbensen, who was a salesman for Micro-Ed, and later was president of Cycle Software Services, a software duplication company that spun off from Micro-Ed. This interview took place on June 3, 2020.  Very old Micro-Ed/Thorwald Esbensen web site  AtariMania's partial list of Micro-Ed Software for Atari  Micro-Ed advertisement in Compute! magazine May 1980  Thorwald Esbensen obituary in StarTribune  Thorwald Esbensen obituary in Duluth News Tribune  Washington Apple Pi, January 1984 The Transactor v5n3

Kai and George Esbensen, Micro-Ed Software I first heard about the Micro-Ed software company when a member of the Atari community sent me a batch of educational cassette tapes to digitize. The tapes had titles like Maps and Globes, Punctuation, and Spelling Level E. Intriguingly, the tape labels said "Micro-Ed, creators of more than 2,500 programs, pre-school through adult." 2,500 programs? Why had I never heard of this company? I asked <a href="https://twitter.com/a2_4am" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">4AM</a>, a software preservationist specializing in the Apple II — and specializing in little-known educational software — if they had heard of the company. The answer was also no. So I started to research. A two-page advertisement in Compute! magazine issue 4, May 1980, provided my first glimpse into the company: "LOOK at all the MICRO-ED programs for the PET!" The titles listed include Agreement of Subject and Verb; Run on Sentences; Higher, Same, Lower; Word Demons; and (oddly) Usage Boners. Many of the software tapes were sold in packs, for instance $84 for a pack of 12 elementary school programs. $49.95 for a grade's worth of spelling lessons on 7 tapes. An item in the Washington Apple Pi journal, four years later, January 1984, intrigued me: "$10,000 EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE GIVEAWAY. Micro-Ed Incorporated has announced its willingness to donate up to $10,000 worth of software to any school district, Special Education cooperative, or parent group willing to establish a school-to-home lending library. No limit has been established on the number of grants Micro-Ed will make. The donation is not contingent upon the purchase of any Micro-Ed products. ... Thorward Esbensen, Micro-Ed's president, 'envisions the establishment of a free lending library of educational software for families.'" Less than a year later, in November 1984, the Commodore magazine The Transactor (v5n3) wrote that Micro-Ed had donated "more than a half million dollars worth of its instructional programs to school systems" for those free software lending libraries. So. Micro-Ed was established in 1979 by Thorward (Tory) Esbensen. Based in Eden Prairie, MN, the company specialized in low-cost educational software. The software, written in the BASIC programming language, was available for Commodore PET, VIC-20, and Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit, Apple II, TRS-80, and Texas Instruments computers. Micro-Ed's best-known title was perhaps "Trail West," an Oregon Trail-like game. Mr. Esbensen died in 2012. I interviewed two of his sons, both of whom worked with their father at Micro-Ed. First, I talked with Kai Esbensen, the youngest in the family. Kai told me in email: "My siblings had all moved out by the time Micro-Ed was in motion, but I lived it. Helping out with Micro-Ed was my first paid job, in 2nd/3rd grade, and I was still on the payroll helping out through age 22." This interview took place on May 28, 2020.  ... Next, I talked with Kai's older brother, George Esbensen, who was a salesman for Micro-Ed, and later was president of Cycle Software Services, a software duplication company that spun off from Micro-Ed. This interview took place on June 3, 2020. <a href="https://www.ttinet.com/microed/thorwald.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Very old Micro-Ed/Thorwald Esbensen web site</a> <a href="http://www.atarimania.com/list_games_atari-400-800-xl-xe-micro-ed-inc_publisher_2823_8_G.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> AtariMania's partial list of Micro-Ed Software for Atari</a> <a href="https://archive.org/details/1980-05-compute-magazine/page/n61/mode/2up" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Micro-Ed advertisement in Compute! magazine May 1980</a> <a href="https://www.startribune.com/thorwald-esbensen-pursuing-his-passion-he-inspired-all/160195795/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Thorwald Esbensen obituary in StarTribune</a> <a href="https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/2323426-1960s-duluth-educational-pioneer-dies" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Thorwald Esbensen obituary in Duluth News Tribune</a> <a href="https://www.wap.org/journal/showcase/washingtonapplepijournal198401.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Washington Apple Pi, January 1984</a> <a href="http://csbruce.com/cbm/transactor/pdfs/trans_v5_i03.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Transactor v5n3</a>

ANTIC Interview 396 - Kai and George Esbensen, Micro-Ed Software